A Little Glimpse At Benny

I never thought that the day would come that I would actually be getting out into Benny.

It was only two weeks ago we organised the last of the boxes.

My Attic 24 Blanket keeps us warm on the cooler days on the little comfy second hand couch. (it's still waiting for the ends to be woven in, too busy lately to get around to that)

Hateful as plastic is, living in the bog means moths and lots of them so to keep my yarn safe I have to sort them in plastic boxes. A box for each yarn weight.  There is probably about 12 boxes out there and I won't tell you a lie, there is still a lot more stored in the attic!

The threads and scissors are waiting for a display stand to be put up on the wall.

Pardon the blurry picture!

I love these door knobs. My hubby bought them for me last year as a little pressie.

This just had to come out here with me. I bought it in Munich a few years ago and I love it. 

The picture is painted on the reverse side of the glass itself.

I bought these wooden mushrooms at the Lamb festival. 

One Is worked from Ash and the other Hazel.

This also came from the Lamb Festival and we nicknamed him Ouch as he is to become my new pincushion!

The first job that I had to do when I moved in was to sew a new ironing board cover.

It's probably the worst sewing job that I've ever done. 

I really need practice more with my sewing, the machine was stored away for far too long.

Here is one little visitor to the studio that does not want us doing any work, except of course if that entails giving her tickles under the chin!!

It's hard to believe that Benny was once a sad mobile home with a leaking roof and holes in the floor.

Now he is bright and cheery and a home from home for me.

My little escape and just what I've always dreamed of.

Rosie

 

Little bits are slowly popping up around the mobile.  Decorative pieces that just seem to grow and appear naturally.  Not planned in any way.  Just the way that I like it.

I'm not even in it two months and already my work table is a total mess.  At least the trees outside the window are growing rapidly and offering no distractions.

Making Dinner With Lucy

I have to be honest and say that I'm really just a big child.  And one of the best thing for me was when I had the kids was realising that I could let my inner child run wild. I can't resist a game of hide and seek or eye spy or even stuck in the mud.  So when Lucy took out her box of Playdough and asked me if I wanted to play, I was in there as quick as lightening.  We decided to try and make something resembling a dinner.

We decided to try and make something resembling a dinner and we made steak, carrots, beetroot, peas and sweetcorn, tomato and spuds.  It's amazing what you can make with palydough!!

Baby Mobile

Last week a good friend of mine had a little baby boy.  Ahhhh I hear you say.
And so I set about trying to decide what on earth I could give her as a present considering that she is a master crafter herself and has been knitting cardis and blankets for months and also my kids wanted to help me make something.  So I decided that a baby mobile would be a nice idea.
(Apologies in advance for the pictures but the finished mobile was so long that the only place I could hang it to photograph it was in the kitchen).

Firstly I got a bag handle and covered it on ribbon and hid the seam with a green spotted bow.
Then the kids picked out buttons and helped me to sew them on little felt flowers and stars.  Great practice for them.

We cut out shapes in fabric that the kids thought they would like on a mobile for their room. A moon, , butterfly, fish and two different hearts.  We sat on a rainy afternoon and quite happily stitched to our hearts content.  They may not have been pure perfection but there was a lot of effort put into it.
I then laid out the pieces in rows as they would appear on the mobile and with a darning needle and a long piece of embroidery floss, I began to sew them together starting with the fabric shapes and knotting the thread under each new felt shape added.

I had some thick felt rope hanging around for ages and I knew that I would eventually find a use for it and this was just ideal.
I cut up five pieces, one for the loop and four to tie to the hoop of the mobile.
I must admit I got my hubbie to do one of his fancy fisherman knots to tie it all together and then I secured it by stitching on this fabric and felt butterfly.
I hung the embroidery floss and shapes to the hoop by stitching the end of the floss to where the felt rope is attached to the hoop, securing it very tightly.

 Oh geees, I hope that this has not been too confusing!

Sewing With Little Fingers!

This week after much begging from my children, I agreed to do a craft class with some of their classmates.  I opened up my fabric box and told them to choose some that they like the best.  And before long the kitchen table was covered in squares of felt, balls of wool, ribbons, various coloured spools of thread and piles of buttons.
I never really expected to enjoy it quite as much as I did.  I put on some music and we sang along to the songs. We joked and laughed.  And indeed we prodded our fingers with sewing needles lots as we whipped stitched little fabric hearts or made felt and button brooches.
I must admit that I find it much easier to show kids how to sew or knit than I do adults.  I can't exactly explain why either.  Maybe it is because they ask simpler questions.  Or maybe it is because they don't expect any more of you than to be yourself and for you just to share with them what you know.  I will definitely be doing one again.  But maybe not three hours long again.!!!